


A serious talk... but with Nanako

by Kairos27universe



Series: Drawing made by Nanako [1]
Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: But I thought it'd be good to warn, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Ship does not really appear here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 10:27:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15638877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairos27universe/pseuds/Kairos27universe
Summary: Yu Narukami is back in Inaba, and to make up for the events of Arena/Ultimax he made sure to spend his whole first day in town with his cousin, Nanako....That is, until his partner shows up on the evening, needing advice and some cheering up. Yu doesn't want to leave the little girl alone, so the obvious solution is to have her help Yosuke with him!





	1. Justice-For-Nanako Plan

“Yosuke-kun?”

Yu sighed as he heard Nanako’s soft voice, announcing the visitor who had just knocked on their front door.

“H-hey, Nanako-chan… Um…Can I talk to your big brother for a moment?” The boy’s animated voice could be heard coming from outside the door, with somewhat of an embarrassed tone mixed in. _‘Well, he’d better be embarrassed.’_ The silver-haired boy thought. _‘He’s deliberately going against Justice-For-Nanako Plan.’_

This “Justice-For-Nanako Plan” was something that Narukami had warned and emphasized quite a lot to his friends though text messages, prior to his arrival in Inaba. Basically, he wanted to spend his whole first day in town with Nanako and only Nanako; that was to compensate for his last visit during Golden Week being spent almost exclusively with the Investigation Team… or with the Shadow Operatives, for that matter. Of course, it wasn’t his fault that a crisis such as the P1-Grand Prix and Sho Minazuki had happened in the first place, but still… Seeing Nanako’s sad face as he left felt like a punch to the gut… Of course, that got numbed as soon as he realized she got stuck inside the train leaving with him.

After giving a reasonable and moving speech to the train driver, the teen managed to get Nanako back to her father before leaving Inaba, but he promised her and himself that he’d play a lot with her next time he came back. He intended to keep that promise, and he WAS doing that, up until now, but here was Yosuke, potentially countering his efforts. Not that he didn’t want to be with his best friend, but the whole point of the Justice-For-Nanako Plan was for him to be able to focus solely on Nanako for the day. It was the beginning of the evening, and they were still in the middle of their drawing session!

Yu Narukami stood up, and boldly walked to the doorstep until he stopped besides Nanako. He saw his friend, who had an embarrassed look on his face, struggling to open up a smile. “Hey, partner. Could we…”

The other boy cut his words short. “Good evening, Yosuke Hanamura. It is quite a surprise to see you here.” He said, with a slight frown and intense eyes. He seriously wanted Yosuke to just back off and wait for tomorrow, since they were all going to meet up anyway, and let him give Nanako his full attention now. These thoughts, however, were brought to a halt when he saw his partner gaze down on his feet, with a visibly sad look. It occurred to him that Yosuke must have been in quite the distress, and was acting cheerful just now to hide it from Nanako.

“I… I know technically I shouldn’t be here, but…” He put his hands inside his pockets, and after a few seconds looked back at Narukami’s eyes. “It’s important. A lot. It’s something that has been eating away at me, and I feel like just waiting for tomorrow with everyone there… It’ll just make things worse. I want you to listen, and tell me what your thoughts about it are, afterwards.” The brown-haired boy finished, resolute.

Yu seemed to ponder seriously what he was being told, putting a finger under his chin. The truth is, he wasn’t wondering if he should comply to or dismiss Yosuke – this particular decision was already made in an instant; he was definitely going to help his friend. What the boy was really pondering is how he could do that… without completely neglecting his cousin, who had been paying close attention to them, still by Yu’s side. He felt like he should make a fast decision, for he didn’t want Nanako to say anything like _“You can go with him, I’ll be fine by myself”_. That would hurt too much to watch.

 _‘Honestly, the best course of action is the simplest.’_ Yu thought, and suddenly raised his hand with his index finger pointing up. “We will have our talk, Yosuke. On one condition.”

Yosuke’s face livened up, and he opened a small, but warm smile. “Sure, partner! What do you need me to do?”

“…Get in. We’ll be having our conversation right here, with Nanako. You’ll be joining us in our activities. That’s the condition.”

The Junes boy opened his mouth after hearing that, visibly taken aback. Nanako gasped, looking frantically at her big bro, also very surprised. He did his best to maintain his composure, to show he was being serious. “I guarantee you that she will be helpful. Nanako is very smart and kind, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. She has all my trust.” He finished, putting his hand on her shoulder.

The little girl gasped again, this time with sparkling eyes. “R-Really?!” The silver-haired boy nodded, with a smile. “Yaaaay!!” Was all she could say, with a big smile of her own and a blush on her cheeks.

Yosuke was quiet during all this, his mouth slowly closing as he heard them. He scratched the back of his hair, seeming thoughtful for a moment. “Well… I guess it wouldn’t be bad…” He finally said, with a half-grin, looking at Nanako. “But I do need to ask you both to keep it a secret, okay? Do you think you can keep it only between the three of us, Nanako-chan?” He gave a playful grin, together with a wink. She happily complied with a nod, and as soon as he took off his shoes to enter she grabbed his hand, excitedly bringing him to the living room.

Yu watched all this with a smile. He was glad that Nanako was so happy, and he knew that Yosuke too had a soft spot for her, so everything would work out. Even if it had taken some improvisation, Justice-For-Nanako Plan was still going smoothly... _'Huh?'_ Suddenly, something scary crossed the boy’s head, as he closed the front door. ‘ _Wait… This problem… It’s not something child unfriendly, is it? I don’t want Nanako to ask me later about nurses or even about secret hiding spots for p…’_ He cut his thoughts short, and immediately asked Yosuke from across the living room.

“Um, partner… What is this problem about, exactly?” His voice sounded somewhat concerned, and the brown-haired boy didn’t really understand why.

“Oh, um… It’s about…”

He averted his eyes from Yu, moments before sitting on the floor besides Nanako, close to the sofa. He then finished his sentence with a serious voice, his gaze still away.

 

“It’s about a girl.”


	2. Magician is not Fooling around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drawings, coffee, sadness and words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um... I think this one got kind of big... But I felt that breaking this chapter in pieces would make it (even more) weird to read, so it had to be like this

“It’s about a girl.” Upon hearing that, Narukami sighed, seemingly in relief (Yosuke couldn’t understand why). Nanako, on the other hand, had her mouth open and eyes shining in excitement. The brown-haired boy guessed that maybe her big bro never really talked with her about liking other girls. And neither would Dojima, obviously. The guy used all his time for work and family, already; and even if he did hook up with someone he’d probably be very discreet about it.

Yosuke felt a little nervous about speaking up. But Nanako was a very mature girl, so despite her age he could trust her on keeping this a secret, right…? And she was Yu’s cousin. Sometimes it looked like the ability to be unfazed by anything you throw at them was a thing that ran down in their family, like a Steel Kingpin Bloodline.

…He shook his head, dispelling these silly thoughts. Then, his eyes followed his partner, who had gone to the kitchen and was getting some mugs out of a cabinet. He now noticed he had some big spots all over his attire…Colored spots. Was it some pattern on the clothing…?

“I’m making me some coffee. Do you want some, you two? How would you like it?” Narukami spoke.

“Yeah, um…Put some cream and sugar on it, for me, please.”

“Big bro, I want it black!”

Yosuke’s mouth opened in surprise and he looked at Nanako, who had a cheerful, innocent smile despite what she had just said. ‘ _More proof for the Steel Kingpin Bloodline theory._ ’ He thought, with a muffled chuckle. Yu only answered them with an “Hmm…” while he still had his back against them, working somewhat quickly. The brown-haired boy used this time to look around the living room. The table he sat close to had lots of pencils, pens, crayons, ink pots, and a few piles of paper sheets, most clean, some drawn on and others…

 ’ _…Huh? Are those stained? It looks like someone threw ink over the sheet…_ ’ He thought. Hanamura noticed the table had its own colored stains too. Connecting the dots, he chuckled as he realized they probably had a small accident with ink before he arrived, and that was what got Yu’s clothing all colorful.

“Here.” He heard his partner saying, and then returned his attention to him, who was now ready to sit by the table with them, holding three mugs of coffee. Nanako grabbed hers first, and then Yosuke reached to get his own. The gray-haired boy sat besides Nanako, having her between him and Yosuke. The latter realized this was a precaution to make sure she was inserted in the conversation. ‘ _Well, that was the deal, I guess._ ’ Then, he calmly raised his hand and had a sip of his coffee; the cream and sugar making him better appreciate the flavor.

“Yosuke-kun, the girl you're talking about is Naoto-chan, right?”

“ **Ngh?!** ” He immediately choked on his coffee and coughed for a few seconds. That was enough of an answer to her question. “W-what? H-how did you know, Nanako-chan?!”

Narukami was looking at Yosuke, seeming a little shocked at the revelation. “I...admit I was expecting almost any other girl. Chie, Yukiko, Rise, or someone else from school. It also makes me curious how you were so spot on, Nanako. Was this time away enough for you to surpass me?” He finished, with a small, playful grin. The little girl smiled in return, while an embarrassed Yosuke noticed the hint of _Justice-For-Nanako Plan_ on his friend’s speech just now.

 “I don’t know about that… But, but! I definitely saw Yosuke-kun and Naoto-chan together around town a few times! It was only the two of them, so I think they were going out on dates!” She finished, clapping her hands in excitement. The brown-haired boy was utterly baffled; he didn’t expect to be exposed so easily, and by Nanako-chan of all people.

“T – T – They weren’t dates, we were just hanging out, as friends! R-really!!” His stuttering was very visible, as was the slight red that appeared on his cheeks. Nanako could only laugh, very proud and happy for making this “discovery” all by herself. Yu was staring at his friend, still a little surprised, but after a few seconds gave off a small smile and picked up some pieces of paper from the table. He silently handled one to each of them, and let the last one rest close to him. “O-oh, right, I’m supposed to join you in this. We are going to…draw?”

“Yes. Feel free to use anything from here, Yosuke. Well… I think it’s better if we just let you speak your mind for now. We are listening.” Yu said that, and then started drawing something calmly on his paper with a black crayon. Nanako was still excited to be with the two boys, and listen in on the more personal conversation; so even as she grabbed a pencil and started to make delicate shapes on the paper, she still seemed quite attentive.

The boy sighed. Seeing them like this calmed him a little. It was finally time to do what he came to do, even if it now involved drawing with them while they hear him. ‘ _Not so bad, I guess. Maybe it’ll help me relax a bit_.’ He reached out to get a pen from across the table, and rested its tip over his own sheet. Nothing came to his mind immediately, so instead it was his mouth that started moving.

“Well, like Nanako-chan said… Naoto and I have been seeing each other for a while, yeah. After you went away from Golden Week, I started to think more about going to college, doing cram school and stuff, so I went to the book store over the Shopping District sometimes. You know, to get some studying books or encyclopedias. And one day I kinda… bumped into her, there.” He stopped talking, and started working on some shapes with the pen, although he didn’t have a clear idea of what he wanted to draw.

About 5 seconds later, the drawing got slower as he continued speaking. “We talked for a few minutes, just the two of us, and it was cool, I guess… Normally we meet only when the group is all together, so it was a nice change of pace. Then we went to Souzai Daigaku, ate some croquettes together. Ha, I didn’t even stick my foot in the mouth that day!” He chuckled, but his face slowly changed into a scowl. “…that much…”

Nanako seemed confused with this, her head slightly tilted to the side; she probably didn’t understand what that expression meant. Yu kept quiet, looking at his partner with a neutral expression.

“But well… After that day we started exchanging messages. We’d meet at school, talk a little on the corridor. Maybe go eat something in town on the afternoon. One day I even walked with her partway home!” He said with a sheepish but warm grin, something he didn’t notice but Narukami and Nanako sure did.

“And, well… sometimes she just, goes away on detective business. Typical Naoto, y’know? But when she came back, like, on an afternoon, she’d go straight to Junes. According to her, it was the most likely place to have people from our group, and since I work there, well… many times it was just me and her there. And Teddie sometimes, but let’s skip that part.” Yu chuckled at that. He understood what his friend meant.

“And I guess… In the middle of all this, Nanako-chan saw us…? Ahaha…” The boy finished, a little embarrassed. The small girl seemed glad to have an opportunity to talk, and her cousin was also proud of his partner for sticking to the plan.

“Yes! Normally you two were far away, and I was with my dad, so I didn’t call you to say hi. But it was definitely you two! You were cute together.”

“I – I see… Wait, really?” The prince of Junes blushed. “But, well, like I said… They weren’t dates. It was just me who… started feeling things for her, somewhere in between. And I never really told her how I felt.”

“Why not?” The child asked, innocently. Yosuke opened his mouth and then shut it back. Yu eyed his friend, understanding his situation. It’s not an easy task to tell someone this kind of thing, especially if it was to Naoto, who may seem very distant and cold sometimes. There were also other matters, but he thought maybe he should let his partner voice them by himself instead of pressing him on it.

Before anyone could continue, a ‘Bip’ sound was heard. Yosuke hurriedly reached for his phone, and his mouth turned into a small frown as he spoke. “It’s her. I’m gonna answer real quick.” He started to move his fingertips, and when he finished, he skimmed through both her message and his answer. He felt a little ashamed by it. Earlier that day, she suggested they go out to eat something at Aiya, but he had declined saying he wasn’t feeling so well. After he realized his feelings for her, the fun he had being with her started to get mixed with nervousness, guilt and overthinking. Now here she was, texting him to ask if he was feeling any better. He said he wasn’t. _‘Well… I’m not entirely lying, right? I **am** not feeling so well, I just didn’t specify how or why…’_

With a click, he sent her his message and put his phone back in his pocket. He looked miserable, and Nanako noticed.

“Did something happen?” With her sad, puppy eyes, the boy just couldn’t lie.

“Well, you see… I declined her invitation to go to Aiya today. Said I wasn’t feeling so good. It’s kind of a bummer, but… I really wanted to sort this out before seeing her again.”

“And that’s why you said it was important to talk before everyone meets, tomorrow.” Narukami realized, feeling a little bit bad about guilting his friend about coming over earlier. He honestly thought Yosuke was just being impatient, and not that he was in that kind of situation.

“Yeah, bull’s eye.” The brunette boy answered, his head hanging low. “I… like her, a lot. It’s not even, Risette-idol liking. It’s more like… Saki.”

“ **Holy shit** , Yosuke. That’s a big deal.” Yu said with his mouth open and eyes wide, startling both the other boy and the little girl. Nanako gasped, and her big bro quickly covered his mouth, ashamed with his wording. “I-I’m sorry Nanako, I shouldn’t be saying these words here, close to you.”

“Dude, you **never** say ‘these words’! Actually, I don’t think I ever heard you swear before.” He chuckled. Deep down, however, he was somewhat glad his friend better understood how he felt now. And it _was_ kinda funny hearing him say 'holy shit'.

“It’s okay, big bro. I won’t tell dad.” Nanako answered simply, and Narukami sighed, relieved that that was her biggest worry. “Yosuke-kun… If you like her a lot, you should tell her!” She said with a smile, as her attention came back to her drawing. Before answering, the boy watched her defining the shape of two people, drawn quite well for a child her age. They had different heights, so he guessed it was supposed to be the girl and her big bro.

He looked back at his own drawing. It was just a bunch of scratches and blurry lines. Just like the inside of his head and heart right now.

“…I’m scared that it will end up turning into a mess.”

Yu looked at his friend, and his eyes seemed to demonstrate understanding. Hanamura felt a little more confident after this, so he kept speaking.

“I mean… She’s…great, and I’m… prince of disappointment, right? I think it’s kind of a miracle that we’re friends, already. So actually dating her seems… Kind of unlikely. I’m not sure if she’d handle well if I confessed to her.” He finished, somberly.

“B-but you’ll never know if you don’t try!” Nanako said with a higher voice, probably out of concern for the boy’s distress.

“Y-yeah, I know that, but… It means whatever we have now will change, Nanako-chan. If she likes me? That’s great. But I wouldn’t count on that. And if she doesn’t… I’m not sure how our friendship will go from then, on. I doubt it will stay the same. And that’s not even mentioning the matter of…” He seemed to ponder whether he should say what was next. He ended up saying it, with somewhat of a pained face. “…Kanji.”

“Mister Kanji?” She said slowly, not understanding. Her big brother, on the other hand, was actually waiting for his friend to at least mention this point. He crossed his arms and gave his partner a serious look, then turning his head to eye his little cousin.

“You see, Nanako… Kanji has had a crush on Naoto for some time, now, too.” Yu said, softly. She opened her mouth, as if in surprise; she probably never noticed, even though everyone on the Investigation Team (bar Naoto) did.

“W-wow… Naoto-chan is popular…!” She said, amazed.  The two teens chuckled a little, both having the same thought: that the amount of love letters the detective received everyday was big proof of that.

“Kanji is…even though we’d had our differences in the past, like me mocking him or he making me go through a steamy sauna –“ He momentarily interrupted himself, realizing he said TV-World stuff with Nanako close as Narukami glared at him. “-A-anyways, even then… we are good friends now. He is my kouhai, dammit. So what if I confess to her, and he learns of it later? How’d he feel? Doesn’t matter if she likes me back or not. Won’t it be like I’m…betraying him, or somethin’?”

The other two got quiet as they listened. Yu kept a neutral face, as Yosuke finished voicing his thoughts. “It all boils down to… I’m scared of telling her. Scared of being rejected. And scared of hurting Kanji in the process. I mean, having her like me back is a 50/50… no, a 20/80 chance. But hurting Kanji is 100% guaranteed either way.”

The brown-haired boy went back to drawing, his face contorted in a frown. He kind of gave up on trying to make something cool, and decided to go for simpler stuff. A few seconds later, the general shape of Teddie in his bear suit was discernible on the paper. He wasn’t too proud of it.

“Yosuke-kun…” He heard Nanako’s soft voice, and raised his head to look at her. “Being a teenager seems… So complicated. And sad. Do you go through this kind of thing too, big bro?” She asked, turning to face him.

Yu opened his mouth, but he didn’t speak. It embarrassed him a lot, but he didn’t really have problems like this. Of course, it was partly because he wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship with anyone right now, but still… It only contributed to the image of _“Mr. Perfect”_ that he didn’t like being painted as very much.

Hanamura suddenly answered Nanako’s question for Yu, cutting off these thoughts. “Being a teenager _is_ kind of complicated, but this problem is more, like… specific to me, Nanako-chan. I’m not the luckiest guy around, you see. My… heart just picked the most complicated choice.” He said with a chuckle, trying to word it in a way the child would better understand. Narukami noticed a hint of sadness in his voice. Yosuke was really hurting with all this. The gray-haired boy pondered for a few seconds, while continuing his drawing over his paper.

“Is that all, Yosuke?”

“Yeah, I guess… that’s all, partner.” He answered, trying to think if there was anything else he forgot. There probably wasn’t.

“Hmmm. Let me think for a bit.”

“Hmmm.” Nanako imitated her cousin.

“Oh, um… Alright. No pressure.”

All three of them went back to their respective drawings. The small girl started painting hers, using many colors of crayon. Very light pink, blue, brown, orange, black, green, yellow. Her big bro was calmly but firmly using his black crayon to shade and stylize his piece of art.

Yosuke, however, paid no attention to the both of them. He was very focused on his own paper, suddenly interested in making somewhat of a good job. Having talked to someone about his problem was surely a great help for his state of mind, even if no solution was given. That was no surprise, since he kept all this stuff hidden from absolutely everyone, too scared that they could spill the beans if he did tell them (a specific memory of Teddie telling his parents about his secret magazine hideout popped in his mind, and gave him a shiver). Of course, he also couldn’t tell Kanji, and… Naoto herself, for obvious reasons. So all in all, finally sharing this with someone eased his mind.

“…Thanks for hearing me, you two.” They both looked at Yosuke while his eyes were still down on his drawing. He had a small smile on his face. They smiled back to him and then to each other, but Yu Narukami’s face soon became more neutral, as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Well, I think we should say what’s on our mind, now, right?”


	3. Feeling better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More drawings, more words, and smiles.

“Yosuke… I think you already know what you should do.” Narukami said, sternly

“I-I do?” Was the boy’s answer, obviously confused.

“You have to tell Naoto.”

“You have to tell Naoto!” Nanako repeated, with as much of a serious expression as she could make with her child features, while she continued coloring her drawing. Yosuke winced a little, absorbing what was just said to him. He could only mutter one word.

“What…?”

Yu took advantage of his friend’s (almost) silence to continue speaking.

“I know that it’s not easy. I didn’t ignore everything you just told us, mind you. But still… sometimes the best course of action is the simplest.” He said, echoing what he thought earlier that evening about talking to Yosuke with Nanako. ‘ _It has been working well thus far’_.

“Y-yeah, when you put it like that… But to do that, I need… I dunno, guts? I’m not sure if I’m ready for it. For the…consequences…”

“Are you scared of Kanji beating you up?”

Yosuke was taken aback by his partner’s bluntness. Only after a few seconds did he respond. “…To be honest, not really. I mean, yeah, it would suck! But I don’t think that’d be his reaction.” He started using the blue and red crayons to slowly fill the shape of Teddie’s suit on his sheet. “He’d just get sad, and… disappointed with me, I guess. I’m his friend and knew of his crush and still went for her. That’s like, a _very_ shitty move, even for me.”

He kept painting his Teddie for a moment, and then realized what he had just said. “Ah..! Sorry Nanako-chan, I shouldn’t have…!”

“It’s O-KAY! I already told you I won’t tell dad!” The little girl said, hastily. “I’m grown up already; I can hear swear words just fine.” Both teenagers’ eyes widened at her outburst. They looked at each other for a few moments, and without exchanging words agreed not to press on the issue. After about two seconds, Narukami broke the silence.

“Yosuke… Aren’t you underestimating Kanji a little?”

“Huh?” The boy answered, caught by surprise. “W-what do you mean, partner?”

“You’re assuming he will feel bad, and just never grow out of it? Are you talking about the same Kanji Tatsumi I am?” He said, with a small smile. “He is strong, Yosuke. He’ll definitely feel bad if he sees you two making out all of a sudden, of course, but if you talk to him, be honest, and give him time… I’m sure he’ll move on, and be happy for you. It's not like you're doing it on purpose to hurt him. You just like her genuinely, and with his huge heart he will notice that. And besides, he’ll have all of us to help him get through it.”

“Me too!” Nanako cheered on. Her big bro looked back at her, and nodded with a smile.

Hanamura was dumbfounded. What his friend had just said made…a lot of sense. He usually held his kouhai in high regards, so why doubt him now?

“I…I guess it’s true. I was just scared that… he’d never look at my face again or something like that, y’know?” He said, his head hanging low.

“Stop that. He wouldn’t ignore you forever. Kanji is the type to look straight at your face, say something like ‘ _We are both men, aren’t we?_ ’, and then give you a nice smack on the shoulder. In fact, you’d better prepare that shoulder of yours so it doesn’t break.” The gray-haired boy said pointing at his partner, who shuddered a little at the thought. But his head wasn’t down anymore.

“Yeah…You’re right…” Hanamura said, smiling sheepishly. He kept this smile as he went back to his drawing.

Narukami eyed him a little more, confirming his friend’s smile, and then focused on his own sheet of paper as well. He made strong motions with black crayon, and after about one minute, finally stopped. “It’s done.” He said, simply. Both Yosuke and Nanako looked as the boy lifted his drawing in a way that they both could see. The latter gasped in amazement, while the former seemed amused.

“Yu, isn’t that…?” He said grinning, as he watched the very stylized drawing of a humanoid figure donning a white, robotic mask and a long, black coat. There were more details, like a gigantic knife/sword, that made it quite obvious that it was supposed to be –

“Yes, it’s Izanagi.” He said, proudly.

“Oh, I remember that name! Someone at school said it was a legendary man, who created Japan with his sister.” Nanako said, slowly. Her cousin nodded, and congratulated her for knowing this. Yosuke thought that maybe his partner was going too overboard on his appraisal of her, getting her embarrassed or even annoyed. This notion disappeared as soon as he saw her happy and sincere eyes. Maybe he was the one not appraising her enough. Something crossed his mind to correct this.

“So, Nanako-chan, how about we take a look at your drawing, now? I bet it’s really beautiful-“

“N-no, you can’t!” She put her arms over the piece of paper, hiding it from him.  “It’s not finished yet. You can’t see it!!”

The brown-haired boy was a little taken aback, but didn’t give up. “Oh… But then I’m gonna get curious, Nanako-chaaan…”

“I promise you’ll see it. Just give me some time, I’m almost finishing it.”

That reaction was…a little weird, but there was just NO way could he say no to those puppy eyes she made. Yosuke decided to not press on the issue further, and instead turned around on his seat so that his back was facing her. “How ‘bout this? I’ll not be able to see it until you’re finished, so you can do it calmly.” He then reached for the coffee mug, and held it on his hand.

“Okay! That’s better. Thank you!” He heard her say, cheeriness very apparent in her voice. ‘ _Yeah, made the right decision, Yosuke._ ’ That was not something he could brag about every day, so he was pleased with himself. Leisurely, he raised the mug to take a sip from his coffee, savoring the sweetness from the cream and sugar. He knew having these wasn’t something considered very manly, but Yosuke was somewhat picky with his taste, and honestly, he didn’t care as much about this kind of stuff as of lately. Kanji could knit and sew, and was still strong, right?

Very strong, actually. Hanamura pondered why he had overlooked this so much. Was it the age difference, which clouded his mind? Or was it just him being dumb, again? Anyway, he had underestimated his friend’s strength, and would not do that again. Which means the only thing keeping him from telling about his feelings to Naoto, was…himself.

As he wandered in these thoughts, absorbed about how (and if) he should tell her, he didn’t notice the minutes passing. He didn’t notice when Nanako whispered something in Narukami’s ears. Or when his partner got up and went to get something from somewhere else in the house. Or when he got back. He only noticed the moment they both started giggling behind his back. “Um… Is it done?”

“Yes! You can look now!” He heard Nanako saying, happily. He turned around expecting to see the drawing, and instead saw her handing him…an envelope. He was confused at first, but then noticed the cutesy pink ribbon glued to one of its sides. He guessed Yu helped her arrange this to make it look more like a gift, and the drawing was inside. Before opening the envelope, though, he eyed the little girl.

“Um…Thank you?! I’m still not sure why I’m getting it as a gift though…”  

“Because you were really sad, Yosuke-kun. I wanted to help cheer you up.” She said, simply. Her blunt honesty made Yosuke blush, as he felt his heart melt. For a moment, he forgot he had yet to open the envelope, just standing still with a dumb look on his face. Only after a slap on his shoulder by a grinning Narukami did he recompose himself.

“Wha-?! O-oh, yeah. Thank you, Nanako-chan! I really appreciate it.” He said, giving her his signature smile-and-wink combo; she reciprocated with a warm smile of her own. Yu just watched them both, silent but happy.

The Prince of Junes then slowly opened the envelope, and pulled the piece of paper out of it. He remembered it was two people of different heights in some kind of scenery. ‘ _It’s a drawing of her and her big brother, probably. To help me remember them and feel confident, or something nice like that_ ’, he thought, with an honest smile.

His smile completely dropped the moment he noticed the many hearts drawn around the two people in the middle. Who by the way weren’t Nanako and Yu, as he noticed an instant later. It was a drawing of HIM and NAOTO!

He gasped, as his mind processed what he was seeing. They were drawn very simply, but with clear and expressive faces. The boy noticed how accurate Nanako’s portrayal of them was; Naoto had a shy and cute but visible smile, and he had a big dumb grin plus his blinking eye. They were both very close together, as if hugging, with their cheeks painted in red blushes. Yosuke didn’t notice he himself was blushing right now. They were standing close to some rocks and water, so he guessed they were…at the Samegawa Riverbank? And all around the scenery were… red hearts, painted in many sizes, leaving no doubt as to what kind of relationship Nanako wanted to convey.

“Nanako-chan… This is really cute…” He muttered, still gazing intensely at the piece of paper.

“Hehe, I know! I said you two were cute together. This is for you to feel brave!” She raised her clenched fist up in the air, to emphasize her words. “Now you have to tell Naoto!”

Narukami grinned and raised his own fist, repeating his little cousin’s words just like she normally does. “Now you have to tell Naoto!” The brown-haired teenager winced a little, and stuttered.

“H-hey, can we all agree that ‘now’ is a little too soon?! I-I don’t want to rush things and screw it up… But yeah.” He joined them in their posing, with a big, cocky grin. “…I’m gonna tell her! That’s right, Yosuke Hanamura is on it now!!” He winked. “I can’t let things go on like they are, now. Even if I just get turned down, at least I’ll get it off my chest.” These last bits were said more to himself than for the others, as his face straightened and he put his hand back down. Yu and Nanako both nodded, proud of their child’s resolve.

“…Yeah, Nanako, guess we did a nice job, don’t you think?” The gray-haired boy said, turning to her.

“Uhumm! It’s cool to help other people, big bro! And drawing too.”

“Oh? Maybe we should do some more experiments on painting with ink, then?” Narukami suggested nonchalantly. As soon as he heard that, the Prince of Junes put his gift back inside the envelope, and left it a little further away, over the sofa. He did not want it to get stained like his partner’s clothing. He would treasure this present.

Suddenly, everyone heard the doorbell ringing.

“Could that be Dojima-san?” Yosuke asked. The other boy shook his head, and got up.

“No, he has the keys; he’d just get in. I’ll go answer the door, be right back.” And walked away. Before going to the door, he left his empty mug on the kitchen sink, so it took him quite a few seconds.

“Okay.” Yosuke answered him softly. He didn’t focus his gaze anywhere for some time, feeling a bit air-headed. Nanako tapped his shoulder and snapped him out of it.

“Yosuke-kun, are you okay?! Is there anything else wrong?”

“Wha-? N-no, Nanako-chan! Sorry, sorry, haha.” He grinned, a little embarrassed for making her worry. “I’m okay. Just feeling a little… lighter, you know? Like... Relaxed, at peace, or something like that.” He then reached for his coffee mug, and raised it close to his face.

“Oh, I understand…” She said, in amazement. “Like Detective Love Line! She always gets relaxed like that when she has solved the case in her head, and is ready to unmask the villain at the end of the episode! That’s cool!” She gushed abruptly. The boy laughed heartily at this. He wasn’t one to receive many compliments, so getting one from Nanako-chan was very appreciated.

“Hehe, it is, right?” He took a long sip of his sweet coffee. Yu’s voice was then heard by the both of them, from the door; it was uncharacteristically loud.

“H-HEEY, NAOTO! LONG TIME NO SEE!!”

It took Yosuke a few moments to fully grasp what he had heard. And then, what came out of his mouth was “ **NGHH** ”.

If he had a coin for every time he coughed on his drink this night… he’d have two coins. Except the second coin was the size of a Teddie.

“Yosuke-senpai is in here, isn’t he?” He heard Naoto’s voice as he tried to gulp the drink in his mouth. It sounded very serious, and maybe even…angry? His throat clenched again.

_‘Okay, make that three coins.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first posted fic, and I feel like it came out a little... disjointed. I hope to continue improving as I write and post here.  
> With that said, if I got to make you smile or maybe chuckle a little, even once, then that's a win for me. Thank you for reading!
> 
> This story was supposed to go on a little longer, but I figured it'd be better to break it in two parts. I hope to not take too long to write the continuation, but before that I need to finish two other one-shots I've already started writing. Hopefully they won't get too lenghty...'(-_-)  
> Anyway, this is it for now. Take care! o/


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